The present invention is directed to air conditioners and, more particularly, to a one-piece injection molded plastic basepan having a high level of structural integrity.
It has been a common practice to provide a basepan for a room air conditioner unit fabricated of metal and including various structural elements needed for rigidity and strength. Such basepans are not only subject to corrosion by the condensate drain water, but are also costly and expensive to fabricate while adding to the total weight of the unit. Air conditioners using such basepan also typically have a number of other metal structural components attached to the basepans which require a plurality of fasteners to facilitate attachment thereto, thus requiring additional parts and additional labor input to fabrication of the unit, all resulting in higher costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,233, xe2x80x9cMolded Plastic Basepan For Room Air Conditionerxe2x80x9d to Pugh et al. describes an integrally molded synthetic basepan for an air conditioning unit which includes molded in features for handling condensate flow. The ""233 patent does not address the design or manufacture of a basepan having high structural integrity. Such a high level of structural integrity is necessary in such air conditioning units in that the compressors mounted in all such units are extremely heavy. Further, the size of such units requires rigidity to prevent distortion of the basepan and the components supported thereby during handling of the air conditioning unit.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/140,007, xe2x80x9cWindow Room Air Conditionerxe2x80x9d, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, relates to a window room air conditioning having a rectangular basepan and having the components thereof assembled into subassemblies. A first subassembly includes the evaporator coil, condenser coil and compressor and the usual refrigerant interconnections therebetween. This subassembly is initially assembled within the basepan. The second subassembly referred to as the xe2x80x9cair handling subassemblyxe2x80x9d includes a vertically extending metal partition for separating the air conditioning unit into indoor and outdoor sections. The second subassembly further includes a motor driving both condenser and evaporator fans as well as evaporator and condenser shrouds and an electrical control box. The second subassembly is vertically lowered into mating cooperation with the second subassembly and the partition and condenser shroud are suitably attached to the basepan with threaded fasteners.
It is deemed desirable to have a one-piece molded plastic basepan, which facilitates assembly of the subassemblies of such an air conditioning unit while providing for a high level of structural integrity.
A molded plastic basepan supporting components of a room air conditioner includes a substantially rectangular bottom wall having a front edge, a back edge and left and right side edges. The bottom defines a top surface and bottom surface, and each of the edges thereof includes a structural side wall section extending upwardly therefrom in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall. A vertically extending substantially hollow structural beam is formed in the bottom wall of the basepan. The structural beam extends laterally from a location proximate the left side wall to a location proximate the right side wall. In a preferred embodiment, the bottom surface of the bottom wall is substantially planar and the structural beam is defined by a closed elongated channel extending upwardly into the basepan to define an elongated enclosed wall extending upwardly from the top surface of the bottom wall.